If they can take care of Portugal they will likely top the Group and have a very comfortable journey to the semi-finals in what looks to be the ‘easiest’ quarter (none are terribly easy). I say this as I’m heavily against Argentina as I will explain soon.

France have a team packed with youthful exuberance and pace will be their number one asset. Denmark and particularly Peru may prove difficult in the group stage but ultimately, I expect them to top the group.

From there it gets tough with a path of the likes of Argentina/Croatia in the 2nd phase Uruguay/Portugal/Spain in the quarter final and Brazil in the semi-final just to get to the big show. For that reason, I can’t see them as anything but grossly under the odds in the current futures markets.

Australia were poor towards the end of the Postecoglou era despite him having a very positive effect on the team early in his tenure.

On paper, it isn’t ideal that coach Bert Van Marwijk is in for just the World Cup but I think it is actually a very smart transition period before Graham Arnold takes over.

Fitting Mooy, Jedinak and Luongo into the middle 3 is a challenge and despite Luongo’s good performances in the March friendlies I expect him to start with Mooy and Jedinak, though if it was me I would be deploying Jedinak as a central defender, but that appears highly unlikely.

Josh Risdon, a fine player in his own right may struggle at this level and was exposed against Hungary still I tend to agree he is our best right back option at the moment.

Tom Rogic can drift in and out of matches but looks to have seen off Jackson Irvine as the attacking midfielder and he has plenty of creativity.

Our striking options are not great with Andrew Nabbout out of position looking to be the most likely option ahead of Tomi Juric.

Daniel Arzani appears made for the big stage and I expect him to get big minutes, and likely a potentially a big move post World Cup.

We match up ok against Denmark and Peru but as much as I think we will perform well I doubt we can make it out of the group stage.

The Verdict

Boring I know but I think we are in for a Brazil v Germany final as they standout above the competition.

As for a winner, well it’s nearly impossible to call but it is Germany that I will lean to ever so slightly. As a strategy I would be opposing Argentina across the board.

I also suspect that the Asian teams will be out of their depth on most occasions and will likely oppose them throughout the tournament with the exception of Iran who are a very difficult team to break down and look the best of an average bunch.

Futures Bets

Germany to win the Cup at $6.00 Peru to qualify from Group C at $2.45 Argentina ‘Eliminated in Group Stage’ at $4.50 Gabriel Jesus Top Goal Scorer at $17.00

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